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Track World Cup 06-07 Round 1 - CDM
Sydney, Australia, November 17-19, 2006
Track season opens with Sydney World Cup
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In a change from previous years, Sydney is now hosting the opening round of the UCI Track Cycling World Cup. 242 riders representing 32 nations will compete in 16 events in three days of cycling action at the Dunc Gray velodrome. The entry list includes eight reigning World Champions, Olympic and World Champion medallists, as well as five of Australia's Melbourne Commonwealth Games gold medallists.
Recently introduced changes to the UCI World Cup Series allow for professional track team entries, similar to the current set up for road and mountain bike racing, which means the host nation will actually field three teams. The inclusion of the Australian 'Cyclones' National team and the SouthAustralia.com-AIS and Drapac-Porsche professional teams means fans will not only have the chance to cheer on their heroes, they will also witness the young stars with their sights set on the 2008 Olympic Games.
There will be seven professional track teams (two each from Australia and Spain, one each from the Ukraine, Russia and Great Britain) will participate. The eight reigning world champions include: Natallia Tsylinskaya (Blr), 500 metre time trial and sprint, Arnaud Tourant (Fra), teams sprint, Theo Bos (Ned), keirin and sprint, Chris Hoy (GBr), kilometre time trial, Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa), Madison, Peter Dawson (Aus), teams pursuit, Mark Jamieson (Aus), teams pursuit, and Stephen Wooldridge (Aus), teams pursuit.
The highlight of the weekend's racing is likely to be a showdown between Bos and Ryan Bailey in the keirin. Bos is the current World Champion for both the sprint and the keirin but missed a medal in the team sprint at this year's World Championships in Bordeaux when the Australians defeated the Netherlands in the bronze medal ride. Both Bos and Bayley have been in training camps in the lead up to this week's event with Bayley in Adelaide and Bos training with the Dutch team for the past three weeks on Bayley's hometown track in Perth.
World Kilometer Champion Chris Hoy may not be on top form after suffering from a bout of food poisoning since arriving in Australia on Tuesday. However, this may provide compatriot Jason Queally with a chance to shine on the track where he took the Olympic Kilometre Title in 2000.
This is the sixth time this event has been staged in Sydney which first hosted a round in 2002. The World Cup ranks only behind the Olympics and World Championships in importance on the international track cycling calendar.
The winner of each event at the Sydney World Cup will receive the World Cup Classics leader's jersey in addition to the gold medal. The three other rounds in the 2006-2007 series are: Moscow, December 15 to 17, Los Angeles, January 19 to 21, and Manchester, February 23 to 25.
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